IT talks!

Even amid public outcries against the move by telecommunications operators to impose an access limit to broadband Internet in the Philippines, Globe Telecom has proceeded with their broadband cap anyway. Their public-relations spin on it goes by the name “fair use policy”.

I’m very proud of the fact that Filipino netizens were instrumental in getting the NTC to remove the provision for a broadband cap in a recent draft memorandum order — thanks in no small measure to the vigilance of Tonyo Cruz, Noemi Dado, Cocoy Dayao and others. We deserve a pat on the back… but [...]

There is an issue brewing involving the country’s Internet service providers and the government, and it’s something that we, Filipino netizens, should see through to its resolution. It’s about the proposed bandwidth cap that the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) is trying to push. Ok, to be fair to the NTC, the draft Memorandum Order is [...]

When repressive governments in some parts of the world deemed it necessary to impose Internet censorship, they made use of such righteous rationale as ‘protecting against evil’ or ‘shielding the people from harmful content.’ But we all know those reasons were just a ruse, to put it lightly. Case in point: the Great Firewall of [...]

Ostensibly in retaliation to Western media’s coverage of anti-Chinese demonstrations in Europe, the Sports Network website was hacked last Sunday. The site was defaced with the image that you see here (captured by ChristineLu.com). Repeated attacks, most probably serious denial-of-service assaults, have caused the site to be taken down. After a few days, the site [...]

The last TechnoKapihan, which happened on April 2nd, was not a very successful event, in my opinion. Not a failure, mind you, but disappointing. For one, there were less than a dozen who attended; although, there was a hopeful sign: we had three or four first-timers. The old guard were there, but sans a couple [...]

In a recent article at TechCrunch.com, it was reported that the Japanese government is considering a move to crack down on file sharing (read: Torrent or Kazaa). In Japan, the most popular peer-to-peer (P2P) network for the distribution of computer files is Winny. In simple terms, “P2P” is defined as the combined connectivity and bandwidth [...]

Inquirer.net reported yesterday that a college in Pasay City, the Southeastern College (SEC), is bringing a lawsuit against software giant, Microsoft Corp., and its in-country subsidiary, Microsoft Philippines. The case is that MS Phils. has allegedly infringed on copyright laws, in that the college’s intellectual property rights were allegedly encroached upon. The news article elaborated [...]

Silicon Gulf is a nickname for Davao City and extends to the Davao Region, at Southern Mindanao, Philippines. The nickname refers to the growing number of Information Technology and IT Enabled Services (or ITES) companies sprouting in the area. The name was adapted from Silicon Valley, referring to the high tech cluster located in the [...]

Up until this year, brownouts were rare in Davao City. Well, when I was in high school it was rather common, even expected, especially during summer. But for years, Davao has enjoyed practically zero brownouts since then. The Davao Light & Power Co. is even an awardee for being one of the best power companies [...]